A beginner’s guide to Hungarian wine

Who doesn’t like wine? Well, many people actually don’t, too bad for them, but I’m sure that people who do have a taste for wine not only like it but love it!

This post is for wine lovers and is about a wine-loving country that may be unfamiliar to you: Hungary. Hungarian wine used to be one of the most prestigious producers of wine in Europe. The same disease that killed millions of vines throughout Europe (Portugal, Spain, etc.) plus multiple wars including the cold one, prevented Hungarian wines from flourishing on the modern market. But that's okay. It allows us to rediscover them all over again!

First of all, you must know that Hungary is one of the few producer countries with an entire range of classic wine styles, including whites, rosés, reds, and natural sweet wines.

There are 4 wine regions in Hungary:

• Eger which produce Egri Bikavér red blend and Egri Csillag white blend
• Tokaj which produce Tokaji (sweet white wines) and Furmint (dry white wines)
• Villány which produce Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, and Kékfrankos wines
• Nagy Somló which produces Juhfark wines.

You can visit wineries in Hungary as well, I like this curated list from Hungarian Wines. I also think this is a great article about what you need to know about Hungarian wines. Having said that, I'm going to give you a little bit of practical information so that when you go to spend a few days in Budapest you’ll be able to order like a local.

Their favorite drink (at least the most ordered one) is the spritzer, a mixture of wine and soda water, though, pay attention: they’ve got different names according to the proportion of water-wine they have.

Have a look:

• kisfröccs (small spritzer) is 100ml of wine and the same amount of mineral water.
• nagyfröccs (big spritzer) the quantity of wine doubles the quantity of water.
• hosszúlépés (long step) is 100ml of wine and 200ml of water
• házmester (janitor) the number of wine trebles the quantity of water.

This kind of drink is very popular and you will be served any of them at almost any kind of bar, except inside an aborozó, a traditional wine bar. Wine is served in a metal scoop. Even so, I recommend you visit one of them to see what “the real thing” is like.

Finally, here are some tips for you in case your plans include buying some Hungarian wine and drinking it during your visit.

Take note of these words as you are going to need them when buying it, as this is Hungary’s guarantee of origin and they are the first words you have to look up in the bottle:

• minőségi bor (quality wine)
• különleges minőséű bor (premium quality wine)
• There are other words to bear in mind: édes (sweet), fehér (white), félédes (semi-sweet), félszáraz (semidry or medium), pezsgő (sparkling), száraz (dry) andvörös (red).

Don’t get drunk! Or, never mind, get a little bit!

How about you? Have any other suggestions for Hungarian wine? Have you tried any? Do share!

Like it? PIN it!